Trying to be number one and trying to do a task well are two different things. — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Trying to do well and trying to beat others are two different things. Excellence and victory are conceptually distinct . . .… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Non-cooperative approaches, by contrast, almost always involve duplication of effort, since someone working independently must spend time and skills on problems that… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
A preoccupation with achievement is not only different from, but often detrimental to, a focus on learning. Thoughts and emotions while performing… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
There are different kinds of motivation, and the kind matters more than the amount. — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
“Many of our elected officials have virtually handed the keys to our schools over to corporate interests. Presidential commissions on education are commonly chaired… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
“a grade can be regarded only as an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
In some suburban schools, the curriculum is chock-full of rigorous A.P. courses and the parking lot glitters with pricey SUVs, but one doesn't have… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Standardized testing has swelled and mutated, like a creature in one of those old horror movies, to the point that it now threatens to… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
If a child is off-task...mayb e the problem is not the child...maybe it's the task. — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
If unconditional love and genuine enthusiasm are present, praise isn't necessary. If they're absent, praise won't help. — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Most of us would protest that of course we love our children without any strings attached. But what counts is how things look from… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
What can we surmise about the likelihood of someone's being caring and generous, loving and helpful, just from knowing that they are a believer?… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
When was the last time you spent the entire day with only 42 year olds? — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Punishment and reward proceed from basically the same psychological model, one that conceives of motivation as nothing more than the manipulation of behavior. — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Each time I visit such a classroom, where the teacher is more interested in creating a democratic community than in maintaining her position of… — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
Educators remind us that what counts in a classroom is not what the teacher teaches; it’s what the learner learns. — Alfie Kohn Copy Share Image
